Beneventi Spreading Word

Rob Howe

01/18/2014

Jack Beneventi traveled to Iowa City on Saturday to take part in Iowa's junior day event. The Class of 2015 quarterback from Illinois continued to spread the word of Hawkeye to other prospects considering the Black and Gold.

When Jack Beneventi committed to Iowa last month, he pledged to lead the program. He learned at a young age that it's the responsibility of the quarterback.

The Illinois signal caller isn't waiting until he gets to campus to start the process. That's good news for the Hawkeyes considering he won't arrive there until the summer of 2015.

Beneventi has reached out to Iowa prospects on social media and connected with them through texts. On Saturday, he took another step in that direction by attending the team's junior day to network with uncommitted prospects.

"With the restrictions on recruiting for coaches by the NCAA, I think it's a crucial part being a quarterback and a commit to recruit for your future school," the 6-foot-6, 200-pounder said. "I love talking to other recruits and spreading the excitement about iowa's football program. It's important to have great players join the program and it gives us the opportunity to talk to new teammates and make friendships with players."

Despite already pledging to Iowa, Beneventi continued to learn about the program. Like many of the prospects in attendance, he gleaned a lot from a session with Iowa players sharing their experiences at the school.

"I learned more about the daily schedule as a football player for both in and off season," Beneventi said. "Every time I come back to visit there is just more and more to love about Iowa. This place really felt like home and I'm certain many other recruits felt the same.

"The city itself is a perfect college town and the football atmosphere is among the best in college football and the coaching staff makes you feel comfortable and will make you into a better football player and most importantly a better person."

"We've been texting but it was great to meet him," Beneventi said. "He's a very nice kid and an excellent player. So, it's exciting to meet a great teammate."

The Hawkeye head coach took time to speak with Beneventi.

"My family sat down with coach Kirk Ferentz and we discussed academics the most and about football," he said. "Since we have visited multiple times it was great to just speak with coach again and it was my mom's first time on campus."

Beneventi said that he talked with all of the other coaches at some point during he visit. He spent some extra time with offensive coordinator Greg Davis.

"He gave me a few tips on what to work on such as trunk strength and rotational strength as well as jumping rope for quick feet in the pocket," Beneventi said. "He also brought the quarterbacks into meetings to go over film and he showed us a few plays and why certain routes are ran in order to expose the weakness in the defense. It was great to see what film study will be like once I make it on campus."

Scout.com ranks Beneventi as a four-star quarterback on its five-star scale. The service pegs him as the 12th-best signal caller nationally in the Class of '15.